Episodes
| Episode | Title | First Broadcast | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | The Dreaming Spires | 20080618 | Political journalist Anthony Howard takes an autobiographical journey through fifty years in the newspaper industry.
At Oxford, Howard wrote what was probably the first profile of Michael Heseltine, who describes how they have remained friends despite their political differences. Then came national service. Michael Parkinson, then a captain in press relations, recalls an anonymous soldier sending despatches back home during the Suez crisis. It turned out to be Howard, who would later join Parkinson on The Guardian.
At Oxford, Howard wrote what was probably the first profile of Michael Heseltine. Anthony Howard takes an autobiographical look at fifty years in the newspaper industry |
| 02 | A Vanished World | 20080625 | Political journalist Anthony Howard takes an autobiographical journey through fifty years in the newspaper industry.
Howard gets his introduction to Fleet Street on the now defunct co-operative newspaper Reynolds News. Working on the Guardian in Manchester, he meets Michael Parkinson and declines an invitation from Lord Beaverbrook. Writer and historian Paul Johnson describes how Howard landed him with a libel action against The New Statesman.
Howard meets Michael Parkinson and declines an invitation from Lord Beaverbrook. Anthony Howard takes an autobiographical look at fifty years in the newspaper industry |
| 03 | 20101221 | As a tribute to the late Anthony Howard, we hear again one episode of a recent series on his lifetime in journalism. With contributions from fellow broadcasters Sue MacGregor and Charles Wheeler and the novelists Julian Barnes and Martin Amis. Anthony Howard recalls his early journalistic adventures before being signed up in 1965 to become Whitehall correspondent for the Sunday Times. The paper boasted that their latest journalistic recruit would 'prise open' the Labour government's secrets but the Prime Minister Harold Wilson soon put a stop to that. Another opportunity beckoned, however, and Anthony Howard became Washington correspondent for the Observer before editing The New Statesman.
As a tribute to the late Anthony Howard, we hear the story of his life in journalism. Anthony Howard takes an autobiographical look at fifty years in the newspaper industry | |
| 03 | Escape to Washington | 20080702 | Political journalist Anthony Howard takes an autobiographical journey through 50 years in the newspaper industry.
Howard becomes Whitehall Correspondent for The Sunday Times but discovers no one will talk to him because of a memo written by prime minister Harold Wilson forbidding ministers from doing so. He escapes to Washington where he covers one of the most momentous periods in American political history. Broadcaster Sue McGregor recalls Howard's broadcasts from the other side of the Atlantic for the fledgling World at One and former correspondent Charles Wheeler reveals how the BBC went virtually unrecognised on Capitol Hill until the popular mini series The Forsyte Saga was screened on American television. Howard returns to London to edit The New Statesman, recruiting novelists Julian Barnes and Martin Amis, who remember their days at the magazine with great fondness.
Howard covers one of the most momentous periods in American political history. Anthony Howard takes an autobiographical look at fifty years in the newspaper industry |
| 04 | The Elysian Fields | 20080709 | Anthony Howard takes an autobiographical journey through 50 years in the newspaper industry.
Howard gives up the editorship of the BBC publication The Listener to become deputy editor of The Observer. He recruits Robert Harris who recalls his employer once comparing the future author of Fatherland's prose style to 'something assembled by a perfectly competent pork butcher'.
Life at The Observer proves to be a mixed blessing under the proprietorship of Tiny Rowland, the chief executive of Lonrho, who is keen for the paper to support Margaret Thatcher until they fall out over her failure to stop Mohamed Al Fayed buying Harrods (which Roland wanted for himself). Rescue comes in the form of a job at the BBC, followed by work on the obituaries page of the Times.
Howard leaves The Listener to become deputy editor of The Observer. Anthony Howard takes an autobiographical look at fifty years in the newspaper industry |